Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News
Recently, the citizens of Ruzhou, Henan Province, found a long-billed "strange fish" up to 70 to 80 centimeters long in the waters of Yunchan Lake, and the live broadcast of the local pumping water to catch the "strange fish" caused a large number of netizens to pay attention.
According to the management of the city park in Ruzhou City, Henan Province, two "strange fish" have been caught at midnight on the 27th, and it has been confirmed that they are alien species crocodile eels.
The park management has treated it harmlessly and arranged for personnel to professionally disinfect the lake area.
Native to North America, the alligator eel can swallow air into the swim bladder in an oxygen-deficient environment, so it can survive on land for a short time, and the crocodile eel that grows in the wild can grow up to about 3 meters. Crocodile eels are ferocious and pose a great threat to other fish if they are not contained by natural predators.
In recent years, the number of invasive alien species on the mainland has shown an upward trend, becoming one of the countries in the world that suffer the most from the invasion of alien species. According to the 2020 Bulletin on the State of China's Ecology and Environment, more than 660 invasive alien species have been found on the mainland.
Among them, 71 species have caused or have potential threats to natural ecosystems and have been included in the List of Invasive Alien Species in China, and 219 species have been invaded into national nature reserves.
The reason why some invasive alien species are harmful is because they reproduce rapidly, their numbers increase geometrically, and due to the lack of natural enemy constraints, they often grow into new dominant species in the local area, seriously damaging local biodiversity and ecological security, and also causing serious biological pollution and irreversible damage to the ecosystem.
For example, ↓↓↓
Water hyacinth
↑ Water hyacinth is native to South America, introduced to the mainland as an ornamental plant in the early 20th century, and later promoted as pig feed, because of its large number of reproduction, often covering the entire river and lake surface, resulting in a large number of aquatic organisms due to lack of oxygen and insufficient sunlight and death, destroying the ecological balance in the water.
"A Yellow Flower in Canada"
↑"Canada Yellow Flower" is an ornamental plant introduced from North America in Mainland Shanghai and other places in the 1930s, after escaping into the wild, with strong reproductive and rapid space-occupying ability, suppressing the growth of native plants and destroying the ecological balance of vegetation in invading areas.
Brazilian tortoise
↑The Brazilian tortoise, also known as the red-eared turtle, is native to Brazil and a few species to the United States. The Brazilian tortoise is recognized as an ecological killer in the world, and many countries, including China, have listed it as a dangerous invasive alien species.
Red fire ants
↑The red fire ant is a quarantine pest in mainland agriculture, forestry and inbound plants, and is recognized globally as one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species. Red fire ants can directly eat the seeds, fruits, young shoots, etc. of crops, resulting in reduced crop yields and affecting the growth and reproduction of some animals. At the same time, incidents of red fire ants injuring people also occur from time to time.
Fushou snail
↑Fushou snail, also known as large bottle snail and apple snail, is native to the Amazon River Basin in South America. Introduced to China in the early 1980s as an edible snail, it became a harmful invasive alien species because of its strong adaptability and rapid reproduction.
Meadow nocturnal moth
↑ Meadow moth larvae (top) and adults. The grassland night moth is a migratory pest in the global early warning of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with the characteristics of "endemic eating", "endemic growth" and "special ability to fly", with strong reproductive ability, rapid migration and spread, and seriously endangering the growth of corn and other crops. In 2019, the grassland moth invaded the mainland for the first time.
Pine wood nematodes
↑Pine wood nematodes are native to North America. Pine wood nematode disease is a devastating disease of pine trees caused by pine wood nematode parasitizing in pine trees, with pine brown tianniu as the main vector of transmission. Pine trees die after 40 days of infection, the disease has a wide range of transmission routes, rapid spread, and difficult to prevent, known as the "AIDS" of pine trees.
↑ Ancient pine trees receive immunization injections for pine wood nematode disease.
Hollow lotus grass
↑The hollow lotus steppe is produced in Brazil, also known as water peanut and drought-loving lotus grass, which was introduced to China in the 1930s and is a very harmful species, listed as the first invasive alien species in China.
Coconut heart leaf nails
↑Coconut palm beetle is a highly dangerous alien pest native to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, now widely distributed in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. Coconut palm leaf beetle has the characteristics of rapid reproduction, strong destructiveness and difficult control.
Piranha
↑In July 2012, Zhang Kaibo, a citizen of Liuzhou, was bathing his puppy in the Liujiang River section when he was attacked by 3 ferocious fish, and his palm was bitten and bleeding. After the fish was caught, the expert group officially identified the fish as a Samson sawfish native to South America, a species of piranha and a ferocious carnivorous animal.
In response to the problem of invasive alien species, the mainland's management system is constantly improving. The Measures for the Administration of Invasive Alien Species came into force on 1 August 2022. The measures are clear, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with relevant departments, shall establish a census system for invasive alien species and organize a national census every ten years; Establish a monitoring system for invasive alien species and build a national invasive alien species monitoring network; Establish an information dissemination system for invasive alien species.
The solution to this problem also depends on the efforts of society and individuals to prevent the invasion of alien species, and everyone has the responsibility. The Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that no unit or individual may introduce, release or discard alien species without approval. Don't think that the invasion of alien species doesn't have much to do with yourself.
At the same time that The capture of alligator eels in Ruzhou has aroused a lot of attention, on August 25, Shanghai Customs announced that Shanghai Pudong International Airport Customs seized 300 live ants in a batch of entry express mail falsely reported as "Lego toys".
These ants have been identified as savage harvest ants. Native to Europe, the Savage Harvest ant is fierce in nature and has a habit of eating and collecting plant seeds. In recent years, the domestic ant pet circle has been relatively hot, and many people have tried to illegally mail ants from abroad to enter.
Due to the influence of factors such as hunting mentality, alternative pets represented by rats, snakes, lizards, reptiles, etc., have been sought after by many people in recent years. In order to pursue the excitement of the new wave, some people blindly raise wild animals and plants, and even do not hesitate to "sea tao" foreign creatures that are not native, which not only lacks reverence for nature, but also lacks reverence for the law, and increases the risk of invasion of alien species.
The practice is not enough on its own. To consolidate the national "biosecurity defense line", it is not only necessary to improve the legal system related to biosecurity and further increase the cost of violating the law, but also to strengthen the overall national security concept of the public and jointly protect the beautiful home of you and me.